Tag Archives: Oceano

La Sirena LT Double Corona Corona and Other Cigars

Back in 2014, La Sirena Cigars acquired Old School cigars, which went back to about 2007, when Danny Ditkowich and his partners founded the brand.In 2014, Arielle Ditkowich,the president of La Sirena, bought the Old School brands and folded them in to La Sirena, briefly marketing them as Jaxx by La Sirena, Jaxx LT by La Sirena and Stixx by La Sirena. What was cool about this, in my opinion, was that it gave the company some pre-predicate date blends, as well as relationships with two more factories (Jaxx LT at Plasencia in Honduras and Jaxx at Rocky Patel’s Tavicusa in Nicaragua). Of course, La Sirena remains a family operation, with father, Danny involved in the day-to-day operation as well as Mariah adding another face to the brand selling and marketing. Danny is also a partner in the Tobacco Plaza retail store in Great Neck, Long Island, a store I look forward to visiting one of these days (add it to the list!). So that sets up a some back story behind the La Sirena LT, which debuted (that’s an awkward word…”debuted”…so is “awkward”…I digress…) at the 2016 IPCPR. This year they added a new size, a double corona, which is a massive 7 ½” x 52 to the line. Danny was kind enough to send me a couple of these to try, heavily over-packaged, I might add, but assured to make it to me in pristine condition, which is much appreciated.

 

Before I get to the LT DC, since I wanted to give the cigars a rest from their short journey, even though they came in a ziplock with a Boveda, packed in a cigar box, in a bubble UPS mailer, overnighted only about 140 miles, I decided to smoke an old favorite, a La Sirena Trident of a newer vintage. I’ve smoked a bunch of the original, My Father made Tridents, but this is from a newer box, which is out of La Zona. I really enjoy the heck out of these cigars, over the last I don’t know, seven years or so, La Sirena has been a go-to brand for me. There’s something for every occasion in the portfolio, and the Classic line is great evening cigar with some strength and body, and spice. I still have a few of the Don Pepin Tridents left, but it’s unfair to judge a cigar with five years of age to a newer one and expect a fair comparison, but I think the new and the old compare favorably.

 

LaSirena_LT_DoubleCornaThursday evening I decided the La Sirena LT Double Corona had enough time to recover, so I took it for a walk. I mentioned the Jaxx LT above, and the La Sirena LT is the same blend, made at the same factory, Plasencia’s El Paraiso in Honduras. As I said above, this is a 7½” x 52 cigar, set aside two and a half hours if you smoke at a reasonable rate. The usually large looking La Sirena band looks normal on this cigar, and it lacks the small under-band, but it does have a secondary foot-band. Many of the regular La Sirena cigars have a small band under the large one, so those with short memories, like myself, can remember what we are smoking when we  take the large band off! Obviously, due to its excessive length, this cigar starts out pretty mild, but it builds up pretty quickly to a reasonably robust smoke for a Connecticut (Ecuadoran). It has a rich flavor, with the sweet grassiness you expect from the Connectucut, but it’s not without body. Like I said, set aside a good amount of time to dedicate to this large cigar, I walked a mile, and still had a whole toro left when I got home! This was perfectly built, burn and draw were as they should be. These carry a $10 MSRP, which seems quite fair in this day and age.

 

Oceano by La Sirena_AtlanticI had to continue the La Sirena theme, so Friday I went with another large vitola, from yet another factory that they have making their cigars, Quesada in the DR. I really enjoy the Oceano line, I went with the Atlantic, the large belicoso in the line, at 7″ x 52.  This has a Dominican Habano Vuelta Arriba wrapper, Dominican Criollo binder and Dominican Criollo Visos and Ligeros and Nicaraguan Viso in the filler blend. Oddly, it’s a stronger blend than the La Sirena line, certainly the strongest in the portfolio in my estimation. I’ve had this box for about two and a half years, and they just keep getting better and better. It’s kinda on the sweet, peppery and earthy side of the flavor spectrum to me. I really like the blend. I featured the Indian in an article for a 2014 issue of Prime Living Magazine.

 

Perdomo_FactoryTourBlendConnecticut_RobustoI was going to include one more cigar, a Perdomo Factory Tour Blend Connecticut Robusto that I smoked last night, but I’m thinking it might not fit in with the overall theme. I came across the cigar while rooting around one of the trays in the cabinet humidor (that sounds pretentious…) and remembered sitting with Dave Garafalo and Mr. Jonathon at the “Gala” opening party at the 2016 IPCPR. I put Gala in quotes because that year was about the worst opening reception I can recall in the 8 years of IPCPRs I’ve been to, the food ran out in the first 15 minutes, the cash bar was stupid expensive ($6 for a water, granted it was Fiji, but still!), it was lame. Last year, and what I’ve heard from this year, General Cigar Co. has demonstrated what an opening gala should be. But, since few of my readers can experience that, since IPCPR is an industry event, that really doesn’t mean a lot to most of you. Anyway, we were hanging out with Dave and Mr. J chatting, and Roy Kirby, Dave’s Perdomo rep, came over and handed us these Perdomo Factory Tour Connecticut cigars. He didn’t have to, it was very nice of him to do. I guess this one got shuffled to the back and overlooked over the last two years, it’s not like I could miss what it was given the enormity of the band. I guess it was the week for large banded cigars. Anyway, it was a nice, Connecticut cigar, lots of flavor, and you don’t have to take the factory tour to get them. It has a Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Jalapa binder and Esteli fillers. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but, I’m still not going to say too much about it…

 

I posted episode 6 of the CigarCraig Podcast on Friday where I said my peace about the Altria FDA letter, but I’ll add this: Of course I support the exemption of premium cigar from FDA regulation and everyone who’s fighting for it. I just happen to be realistic in my thinking. I think Altria could have worded their response a little better than “we agree with the FDA that there is “no appropriate justification to exclude premium cigars from regulation”, but, as has been pointed out, they supported the passage of the Tobacco Control Act from the get go, as it helps them from a monopoly standpoint. Anyway, I stand by my belief, as pessimistic as it may be, that regulation is inevitable, and Altria’s letter was more positive than negative in that it provided for a common sense definition of what a premium cigar is and that they should be treated with more lenience. That’s it for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on La Sirena LT Double Corona Corona and Other Cigars

Filed under Review

Contest! Win Some La Sirena Cigars and a Stage V Clinger!

It’s contest time!  I’ve scrounged around the humidor and put together a sampler of cigars from La Sirena Cigars. I’ve included a sampling of cigars from the line, among my favorites. Included in the sampler are a La Sirena Trident and King Poseidon made at the La Zona Factory, an aged La Sirena Dubloon Salomon made at the My Father Factory,  a La Sirena Anchor Toro, which, admittedly, I don’t know much about. An Oceano Atlantic and Southern made at the Quesada Factory, and a Merlion Robusto, Merlion Maduro Toro and the exclusive Sea Lion, all made at the La Aurora factory.  All well aged and maintained in my humidor for up to four years in some cases. I may come across something else to throw in along the way.

La Sirena Sampler

 

Also, there’s an Orange Stage V Clinger cigar holder, which either magnetically, or with a velcro strap, will gently hold your cigar when you need a free hand.

 

Stage V Clinger Front

Stage V Clinger back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rules are simple, leave a comment here to enter, one entry per person, and I’ll pick a winner next Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Many thanks to La Sirena cigars for their support of CigarCraig.com over the years and to Charlie at Stage V Clinger!

 

That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

86 Comments

Filed under Contest

Charter Oak, Oceano and 1881 Perique Bold Cigars

I know, I slacked off and didn’t write a mid-week post! Seems traveling to California in the winter increases the likelihood that one will get a cold, and I’ve been plagued with an annoying sinus thing this week. When that happens there’s no use trying new cigars and having any hope of giving them a fair assessment. When I do feel up to a smoke, I generally select something  familiar and plentiful, the lone Partagas 150 from the ’90s in my humidor is just going to have to continue to sit for a while longer. That being typed, I did smoke a couple of cigars that were new to me this week on my better days.  The first of these was  the Charter Oak Connecticut Broadleaf CharterOak_CTBroadleaf_Rothchildfrom Foundation Cigar Co. in the Rothchild size.  This was a sample from the IPCPR show last July, so it’s been resting comfortable ever since, along with its sibling with the Connecticut shade wrapper. These have a covered foot, which gives a blast of flavor on the light, that is, if you skip the usual toasting part and just go for it. This is a cigar I want to smoke again, honestly, I hadn’t smoked it until now because of its short stature, but it fit into my time schedule this week. It had some horsepower to it, with lots of rich flavors of strong, black coffee. I think I expected more of a mellow hot cocoa in this one, but was surprised and delighted. Now I’m very interested in trying the Connecticut Shade variant. I believe these are reasonably priced, making them a no-brainer. I still have some of Nick Melillo’s Upsetters to try, I admit I’m not as excited about those as his traditional lines.

 

Oceano by La Sirena_AtlanticThis next cigar falls into the “revisit” category, I cigar I really like, but have been waiting for the box to be “ready”. They are ready! The cigar is the Oceano by La Sirena in the Atlantic size.  I wrote about the Indian size in Prime Living Magazine back in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue (has it been two years?) and really took a liking to the blend, which is made at the Quesada’s factory in the Dominican Republic. It’s pretty potent for a Dominican cigar, it does have a Nicaraguan viso, but the majority, including the wrapper, is from the DR. When I first got this box a year ago they were on the wet side, the great flavor was there, but it took some coaxing to get out. These have settled nicely on the top shelf of the cabinet (furthest from the Cigar Oasis) and are now smoking really well.  The Atlantic is a huge belocoso, 7″ x 52, and I chose this size because I really like the Nica Rustica Belly in the same size, although that’s where the comparison ends. I like to have all different sizes available to me as the time I have available dictates the size cigar I smoke. This is a tasty combination of earth and spice, not at all what you’d expect, but delicious. I’m a fan of the La Sirena line, this one is near the top for me.

 

1881PeriqueBold_TorpeditoFinally, last night after a nice dinner out with my wife and son, I decided to give an 1881 Perique Bold Torpedito a try. I posted about Tabacalara Cigars in the Philippines in November, noted that I hadn’t been a fan of the Philippine cigars in the past, but their offerings changed my mind. So I ended up with some more to try from these guys, via their US distributor, Daughters and Ryan.  I picked out the 5″ x 54 figurado because I wanted a shorter smoke, and I still am not sure if this is the natural or maduro version. I thought it was the maduro, but the regular, non-bold, 1881 Perique Maduro has a secondary band saying “maduro”. I don;t care at this point, because it was damn tasty! It had that unique Perique spice with some more ooomph than the “normal” line. I was truly entertained for nearly an hour and a half by this well made, great tasting cigar. I hope these guys get some traction in the US market, because the cigars are good. It’s hard to get people to stray from what they know and try new things sometimes. There are some great cigars from places outside of Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Cuba (and the US, but I don’t feel like cigars that are made in the US, ie.: some Tatuajes, some La Palinas, etc. are perceived as US cigars). These cigars from the Philippines are tasty, and I love some cigars from Peru, Costa Rica and other places.

 

That’s all for now. Hopefully I won’t be a lazy slug again this week and skip my mid-week post.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

1 Comment

Filed under Review

Rocky Patel Super Ligero, Oceano, Nomad, and Romeo y Julieta Cigars at Mojo

Another week in the books. Last weekend turned bad with the new dog, who had to go back to the SPCA on Tuesday. It got the point where she was in attack mode whenever she saw another animal, and that can’t be allowed.  So I took tomorrow off so we could have a weekend “do-over” and my wife and I are headed to the shore for some walking on the boardwalk.  I have to pick out a few sure thing cigars to take along, as I’ve had a couple disappointments this week. What wasn’t disappointing was yesterday’s lunch with my wife at the Flying Pig Saloon in Malvern, PA. Naturally, I have a bit of a Flying Pig attraction, and this place is decorated with a ton of different flying pigs. My wife had a Havana sandwich, which was pork and peppers and pickles on a ciabatta roll. I had the Cheesy Pig, bacon, ham cheddar and blue cheese in a triple decker grilled cheese/club sandwich format. Both were delicious, and they had ginger beer by the bottle! (for the beer drinkers, they also have what seems like hundreds of craft beers on tap and bottled). I should have followed that up with my last Liga Privada No. 9 Flying Pig, but by the time I got around to having a cigar, I had forgotten.

Flying PIg SaloonCheesy PigHavana

 

RockyPatel_SuperLigero_ToroAfter the mayhem of the weekend, I found relief with a new-to-me cigar from Rocky Patel, the Super Ligero. I’d been hearing a lot about this cigar, and the band is certainly a bit different for RP, almost, dare I say, new Camacho-esque.  Whatever band is on it doesn’t matter, this is a really tasty smoke, and right in my wheelhouse. It’s not overly powerful, as the name could imply, Super Ligero is the actual name of the leaf, not a description of its nicotine content. The cigar burned and drew perfectly, had a wonderful rich coffee, spice and cocoa flavor.  I smoked the toro size, it seems to be a very common size for Rocky’s cigars, but I really am on the look out for the lancero.  Whatever you might think of Rocky Patel cigars, this one is a winner and one I’ll go back to regularly. It wasn’t priced too bad either.

 

Oceano_IndianOnce again, in response to a reader question, I revisited the Oceano Indian this week. Lonnie smoked one that was included in his contest winnings a few weeks ago and found it to be spicy and stout.  This cigar is made for La Sirena by the Quesadas in The DR, and it is definitely a strong cigar.  It’s certainly got some spice, and some chocolate notes, but still has a but of creaminess. I have had this example in the cabinet for a few months and it smoked perfectly. I really need to get some more of these, it’s a darned great cigar, but I haven’t really had any clunkers from La Sirena yet.  I featured this in one of my Prime Living Magazine articles last year.

 

Nomad_S-307_ToroI grabbed a Nomad  S-307 toro for a walk this week. I seemed to have accumulated a handful of Nomad cigars for some reason, and have them on the top tray of one of the desktop humidors, so they are staring me in the face every time I open the lid. So, being that I’m basically lazy, I grabbed the S-307 and went on my way. This cigar is made at the AJ Fernandez factory in Esteli, and has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This was Fred Rewey’s first full production Nicaraguan cigar and he really nailed it. If you like cigars from AJ Fernandez, you are sure to enjoy this one. It’s sweet and spicy and a real treat.

 

Romeo AnejoThursday we went down to Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA for a Romeo y Julieta event hosted by Altadis‘ rep Tom Stroud. This is the second time in a week we’ve gone to one of Tom’s events. Considering I’ve not had a strong focus on Altadis products over the years, this is something unusual!  As usual, I purchased a handful of cigars, Romeo’s and Vega Finas, mostly, and decided to give the RoMEo Añejo another try, this time in the toro vitola. We sat in the outside seating area as we had brought Macha along. I still need to revisit this cigar, as it really didn’t burn as well as I’d like. It was a bit over-humidified. It was a muggy day, and the cigars were out in the lobby, not in the walk-in humidor, so that may have had something to do with it. Cigars usually burn perfectly right from the Mojo humidor, and the Vega Fina Nicaragua I tried to smoke last night just smoldered, didn’t produce any smoke unless I really puffed on it, and pissed me off to the point where I chucked it before the half way point and lit up an Alec Bradley Nica Puro. I VERY rarely give up on a cigar like that, but life’s too short to waste an hour fighting with a cigar…I digress.  The RoMEo Añejo wasn’t as bad an experience as the VF, and both show a lot of promise in that what flavors I did get tell me I’d really enjoy the properly performing versions. I’m really excited about the Romeo/Aging Room collaboration that should be in stores soon too.

 

That’s it for now, gotta get ready to hit the road. Don’t forget to go back to yesterday’s contest post and enter (maybe read the review too!). Those Toscano Modiglianos are darned tasty cheroots! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

8 Comments

Filed under Events, Review

Midweek Special: La Sirena Cigars Contest!

Got all the coolers emptied. Now it's just a matter of organization...I wanted to respond to Craig from CA’s question in the comments of the last post about how the new cabinet humidor is working, and I figured I’d throw another contest out too. I know everyone like a contest!  Anyway, the LeMans Cabinet humidor (Prestige) from First Class Cigar Humidors (http://www.cigarhumidors-online.com/) has been maintaining 65% RH, more or less, like a champ, with the twelve old fashioned green foam humidifiers and a little Cigar Oasis XL. The trouble is that the Cigar Oasis XL is too small for this application, so I bought the Cigar Oasis Magna, which was delivered yesterday.  I suppose that will do the job just fine without the need to augment it with any other devices. The large Magna even has remote fans and I’ll be able to use the WiFi module to monitor and adjust it. If I had a complaint with the humidor, it would be that the shelves are not adjustable, the top three shelves are angled, so I can either place one of the six trays on the angled shelf with maybe a hundred cigars per tray, or put boxes on it. I have several of the trays stacked on one of the bottom flat shelves, as well as some boxes I like to look at on the angled shelves. I like it so far.  More on the humidor, as well as the CigarOasis Magna, as things progress.

 

Contest!

 

I have another pack of goodies from the folks at La Sirena Cigars!  The prize is a sampler of cigars from the La Sirena portfolio: there’s a couple of the new Oceano, a Stixx, a Jaxx, a Jaxx LT, a Merlion, a new La Sirena Trident, and I’ll probably include an old La Sirena Trident (made at My Father) so you can compare the old with the new (the new being made at La Zona, and very good as well). There’s a cutter and a box of matches too. These are all exceptional cigars, there’s something in this lineup to satisfy every palate.

 

LaSirena Contest

 

 

Same rules as usual, leave a comment for an entry. I’ll pick a winner midweek next week, at which time the contest will be closed.  Let’s just say it ends on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. I’m going to go smoke a La Sirena right now while I take a walk with the pup!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

61 Comments

Filed under Contest, Editorial